In conventional internal combustion engines, the air/fuel mixture for combustion is supplied by a carburetor. Such a device is a complex apparatus which requires frequent maintenance attention in order for it to operate properly.
Carburetors also suffer disadvantages in efficiency in providing volumetric throughputs of an air/fuel mixture sufficient to provide adequate power for high speed driving. A number of attempts to improve carburetor efficiency have been made. Generally speaking, these efforts have centered around devices placed between the carburetor and the intake manifold to accomplish additional agitation of the carbureted fuel prior to its passage into the intake manifold. One approach which previously has been taken introduces a rotatable turbulence producing means between the carburetor and the intake manifold. The general configuration of such a device approximates the shape of a fan-type impeller. With such an arrangement, the speed of rotation of the impeller, and hence the amount of turbulence produced, is directly dependent upon the volumetric throughput of the carbureted air/fuel mixture. Thus, at higher speeds and engine power requirements where the volumetric throughput is greater, the speed of rotation of the impeller is greater and, correspondingly, greater turbulence and mixing of the air and fuel are provided. On the other hand, at lower speeds and engine power requirements, the volumetric throughput of the air/fuel mixture is less and, accordingly, the turbulence and mixing of the air/fuel mix produced by the impeller are less. In other words, the rotatable impeller inherently adjusts in speed of rotation whereby it corresponds to engine speed and power requirements.
However, the known impeller device just described suffers an important disadvantage. While it is capable of intimately mixing already vaporized fuel with carbureted air, it is not capable of significantly atomizing liquid fuel droplets by itself. Consequently, the use of such a turbulence producing device heretofore has been restricted to its being combined with a conventional carburetor whereby the efficiency of the latter is improved by agitation of the air/fuel mixture produced by the carburetor.